Archive for the 'Oc Government' Tag Under 'Total Buzz' Category

Oral arguments are set for Tuesday afternoon in a lawsuit in which the state is demanding that Orange County pay an annual amount in the neighborhood of $73.5 million.

Judge Robert Moss of Orange County Superior Court will hear the non-jury trial, which could conclude by day's end.

The stakes are big for the county, as the amount in dispute is more than 10 percent of its general purpose revenue, most of which funds law enforcement. If the county comes out on the losing end of the case, the Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office could face cuts.

The foundations of the complex dispute can be traced to the county's 1994 bankruptcy. Afterward, the county needed a way to assure investors that it could make interest and principal payments on bonds it wanted to sell. The solution was a dedicated stream of revenue from vehicle license fee funds, allocated by the state to the county, to back the bonds.

There's talk that Todd Spitzer could be elected chair of the Board of Supervisors when he joins the board next month, which would upset a recent pattern in which the vice chair (Supervisor Shawn Nelson this year) is elevated to chair the following year.

Todd Spitzer

Spitzer says he's not angling for the chairmanship, but Supervisor Janet Nguyen says he'd be great in that role.

Nguyen said the board chair needs to be "collaborative," a quality she sees in Spitzer.

"From what I've seen, Todd's willing to work with board members, willing to take a leadership role. I think he'll do a great job as chairman," Nguyen said.

Acknowledging that her previous bill is going nowhere, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, said Thursday she will introduce new legislation to allow County of Orange employees to opt for a lower-cost, lower-benefit pension plan.

The difference this time: the new bill will apply only to Orange County, not the entire nation.

Sanchez, along with county Supervisor Bill Campbell and Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Association, emerged from an hour-long meeting at Sanchez's Garden Grove office to announce the new legislative strategy.

Orange County's hybrid pension plan, which was rolled out in May 2010, allows new hires to choose between the current pension formula (2.7 percentof salary for each year worked, beginning at age 55); and the new, lower pension formula (1.62 percent of salary for each year worked, beginning at age 65) combined with a 401K-type plan, with matching contributions from the county up to 2 percent.

How did the county manage to come up with the $37.2 million cost of the center in these troubled times? The money came from Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act. Approved by voters in 2004, the act imposes a 1 percent tax on incomes of $1 million or more to support county mental health programs.

The campus will house 15 beds for people in crisis, a non-residential wellness center for people in recovery, and an education and training center for those who aspire to careers in mental health services. Extra touches include a meditation room, a garden that clients will plant and maintain, and six apple trees.

Skelly, 57, who has been with the county since 1981, has been serving as interim auditor-controller since Feb. 1, when David Sundstromdeparted for Sonoma County.

A nationwide recruitment to fill the remaining three year's of Sundstrom's term brought in 36 applicants, only six of whom met the minimum qualifications for the position, said John Moorlach, chairman of the county's Board of Supervisors. Three of those six dropped out before being interviewed.

Saying Skelly "stood far above" the other two candidates who were interviewed, Moorlach asked his colleagues on the board to appoint Skelly to fill out the remainder of Sundstrom's term without going through public interviews of the three candidates.

Update: On Tuesday, March 27, the Board of Supervisors voted to continue their consideration of Skelly's appointment until their April 17 meeting to give themselves time to meet with him individually.

Original post follows:

Orange County's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider appointing a new auditor-controller to fill the vacancy created when David Sundstromdeparted for Sonoma County.

The only candidate on the board's agenda is Shaun Skelly. Skelly, 57 has been with the county since 1981 and has been chief deputy auditor-controller since 2005. Since Feb. 1, Skelly has been filling Sundstrom's shoes as interim auditor-controller. Read his resume here.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, on Monday described as "extremely disappointing" decisions by Orange County's Board of Supervisors to forbid the county's Health Care Agency from seeking more than $10 million in federal grants.

As our OC Watchdog blog reported last week, the board has twice nixed the agency's efforts to win federal money for wellness programs because some members of the board see the money as tainted by President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, also known as health care reform (or, as critics including board Chairman John Moorlach prefer to call it, "Obamacare").

In a statement, Sanchez said:

“It's extremely disappointing that these officials - elected by Orange County citizens to serve this community's best interests - are unfortunately putting politics before the health and well-being of the people of Orange County,” said Sanchez. “This is federal funding that the Board of Supervisors is choosing to leave on the table – funding that is greatly needed for a county with such a high number of unemployed and uninsured. I call on Chairman Moorlach and supervisors Patricia Bates and Shawn Nelson to do what the people elected them to do – serve their needs. I thank supervisors Janet Nguyen and Bill Campbell for their support on this important issue.”

Separately, Frank Barbaro, chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County, also issued a statement condemning what he called "political grandstanding" by the Board of Supervisors:

The Orange County Clerk-Recorder's Office will hold their second Saturday “Passport Day” tomorrow to help travelers who need to show passports when entering or re-entering the United States.

The Clerk-Recorder's Office is typically closed on weekends but passport services will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The first “Passport Day” was held last September in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State.

“What Saturday 'Passport Day' does is provide a convenient time during a Saturday and not the workweek,” said Jean Pasco a spokesperson for the O.C. Clerk-Recorder's Office. “It helps parents so they can both come in.”

For minors to receive their passports both parents must sign the documents in person. Pasco said that's often difficult for working families to accomplish during the work week.